WELCOME TO CLASS ACT BOOKS

Saturday, December 25, 2010

"Charlene A. Wilson has written a fabulous fantasy, filled with imagination and beauty. From the beginning you are hooked, the male characters are interesting, charismatic and yet flawed, making them very likable. The prose is quick and the fantasy fun. The story is well developed, with an ending that is sure to surprise.

This is a well-written world, with a cast of characters that bring it to life. Cornerstone Deep is fast-paced and hard to put down. I look for Ms. Wilson to follow this up with stories on each of the brothers. I would enjoy reading more about this fascinating family."

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"This is a very well crafted and suspenseful story with an interesting paranormal twist. Jac's ability to read objects and people is both a gift and a curse to her. Reid's avoidance of people is a result of a failed relationship. Reid and his partner Brent's personalities are very different, adding another perspective to the investigation. The author does a great job of developing both the investigation and the relationship between Jac and Reid. I love a good suspense story and did not put this one down until the last sentence."

Friday, November 19, 2010

With the release of Cornerstone Deep this week, I thought it would be fitting to have someone from that dimension tell us about their world. So, without further adieu, I give you Mianna.

Introduction to Cornerstone Deep, by Mianna Newton Shilo.Hello, my new friends. Charlene has asked me to take a moment and talk about Cornerstone Deep. I’m very pleased that she has chosen me to introduce you to my world. Naming her debut novel after my dimension is a great honor. Thank you, Charlene.

Actually, Cornerstone Deep is the formal name for Terra. It’s the position we hold in the spectrum of planes. As you know, a cornerstone a vital part of any building or structure. In this case, you could think of an arch. It begins and ends with a cornerstone supporting each base. The meridian cap joins with the midway sections to make the structure. And yes, we have dimensions called Meridian and Midway. Of course, they have their familiar names, just as we do. Our side of the spectrum’s arch is called Deep and the other side is called Summit. Hence, Cornerstone Deep.

I was very fortunate to have been raised in an Arylin colony on my world. Our culture follows Arylin, the Goddess of Love. I lived there until I met Cole when he visited on holiday. He completely stole my heart. I returned to the City of Shilo with him and learned of their unique natures. I knew I belonged with him.

As Sentinels to Cornerstone Deep, Cole, James, and Vincent keep watch over Terra. If something goes terribly wrong here, it affects the whole spectrum. Just as that arch would be weakened if one of its cornerstones failed. Being from Meridian, the Shilo brothers have special abilities. It’s a gifted plane, where they’ve advanced to the point of manipulating the elements. We call them wizards. At least those of us who know of their natures. They’re very familiar with rebirth, and even though they lose their soul mates to death, they are able to find them again and continue progressing together. I can’t tell you how it comforts me to know that Cole will find me again in my next life.

Though I’ve never traveled the realms, I’ve seen them depicted and heard amazing stories. Perhaps one day, the Gods be willing, I will have the opportunity to accompany my love and visit the wonders of the spectrum and be a continuing part of the Chronicles of Shilo Manor. If I do, I promise I’ll give you a full account.

May Arylin’s love abide in your heart until next we meet.

Mianna.

Blurb:

They outlive their loves by thousands of years. Reincarnation doesn't exist on this plane. Yet they continue to accept others for whatever time they have together. Save for Cole. His love for his last wife burns in his soul four centuries after her death.

When the service they render to the Lords of Cornerstone Deep brings him face to face with Anna, something unexpected happens. In a realm of silent souls, hers calls to him. He responds with a kiss; one that joined with the spell of servitude, binds her soul.

He tries desperately to undue his wrong, despite the determination of the Lord to keep her.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Sarah Miles paints gardens. In a garden she paints you might find Dame's Rocket. Dame's Rocket was introduced to North America in the 1600s. It blooms from mid-spring to mid-summer. Some people consider this beautiful wild flower invasive. It looks like phlox and smells like lilac. This plant likes sun or partial shade and well-drained soil. Its leaves are well-drained and toothy. Dame's Rocket reaches a height of two to three feet.But enough about gardening. Here's an excerpt from Sundial:

"Sarah, what's wrong?"Sarah didn't respond. She threw the car in reverse, her knuckles white where she gripped the wheel. How could she explain the unexplainable? How did one explain a gray-eyed stranger who materialized in the middle of the road calling her name? Only he pronounced it Saura.Her hands on the wheel jerked, throwing Meghan's head against the window."Ouch." Meghan rubbed her forehead."Sorry, a dog ran across the road,"Sarah lied between clenched teeth. She hadnt' been close enough to see his eyes. How could she be so sure they were gray? And she was sure. They were a gray that could darken with passion or turn stormy when he was angry.What the hell is going on? She took a deep breath and made herself relax.

~*~

Contest: For a chance to win an autographed copy of SUNDIAL, a 'seeing' pendant, and a $10 Starbucks gift card, just leave a comment and mention Sundial at www.sandracox.blogspot.com

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

In 1988, Hildebrand, the most successful rock star of that era and an actor who had brought to life one of the most famous horror characters ever created, disappears from his beach house, never to be heard of again.In 2009, while on a Carribean cruise, Savannah librarian Melissa Powers discovers herself being stalked by a mysterious cowboy.Agreeing to a midnight rendevouz with the man calling himself Travis Brandt, she discovers his real identity—Hildrebrand, coming out of his self-imposed exile after twenty years of hiding in the sand hills of Nebraska.Before the cruise is over, Melissa and Travis are involved in a frantic love affair ending in a hasty marriage, and the Nebraska cowboy takes the Southern spinster back to his ranch as his wife.In the midst of her happiness, however, Melissa feels as if Travis isn’t telling her the whole truth about why he left Hollywood.What is he hiding and why is he lying?

When I decided to have Hildebrand simply drive away from his Malibu beach house and disappear, I asked myself:To where?

Most people agree that if you want to lose yourself, go to a big city, but Travis is a Midwesterner.So I decided that, in spite of having lived in Hollywood for nearly ten years, and also touring the United States, when he decides to chuck it all, he goes home. Not back to Lincoln, necessarily, but to Nebraska, the Sand Hills, specifically…that fairly isolated north-central section covering a quarter of the state.

Typifying the classic prairie of the Great Plains, the sand hills are located above the Ogallala Aquifer, supplying shallow lakes to the area.Dunes may reach as high as 330 feet, and contain a variety of animal and plant life, ranging from several types of prairie grass to 314 species offish, deer, wild canine, and birds.Although there are no native trees on the Great Plains, there are 720 mostly native plants.

The sand hills were long considered a desert and most of the land has never been cultivated, until around 1870, when ranchers began to utilize the area for grazing longhorn cattle.

Ambiguously for such a flat countryside, in this area are many buttes eroded by cutting winds, biting snowfalls, and torrential rains into fanciful shapes with even more exotic names:Chimney Rock, Courthouse Rock.Stretching across and rising above the bleak flatness, Chimney Rock rises 300 feet above the surrounding North Platte River Valley, its peak is 4,226 feet above sea level.When pioneers traveled the Oregon Trail, it served to landmark their journey halfway there.

It is this area of geographical isolation to which singer Hildebrand—horror star actor, rock idol, drug addict, and demon worshipper--escapes, to begin his transformation to Travis Brandt, rancher and lover of Melissa Powers, the one women he feels can restore him to complete humanity.And it’s in the stark and primitive beauty of the sandstone buttes, raising their jagged spires to the sky, that he begins his fight to save that humanity when the horror of his younger days resurrects itself to threaten his newly-found happiness.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Serpent’s Tooth developed from a dream, and it’s the only novel I’ve written which originated that way.Probably not many people today remember Arthur Franz, but he was a very active science fiction star in the 1950, both in the movies and on TV.Well, one night, ‘way back in the ‘80s, I had a dream about Mr. Franz and I have no recollection of it now, except his being in it and the name “Hildebrandt.”

So, a couple of days later, what do I see on TV but the movie Atomic Submarine, staring guess who?And one of the characters was named “Hildebrandt.”I have this rule…if something sticks with me for three days, I know I have to write about it, so I took these two incidents—which occurred within three days of each other—and decided there was a novel in there somewhere with “Hidebrandt” playing an important role, then the story of Faust--the scholar who sells his soul to the devil--intruded, and… Serpent’s Tooth was born.

My hero, Travis Brand, is a Mid-Westerner, a part Pawnee orphan studying at the University of Nebraska. He’s ambitious (he’s putting himself through school on student loans), talented (a drama major getting raves in every role he portrays), a loving husband, a gifted student, but bitter because he has no prospects, and angry since his lack of money is keeping him from realizing his potential and providing his wife with the family she wants. When a famous actress comes to Lincoln to act in a play and he wins the male lead, it’s his ticket to instant stardom.Suddenly this impoverished youngster is the one calling the shots and it goes to his head.He’s got it all but he wants more and he doesn’t care how he gets it.Soon he’s involved with some very deadly people and when he wants out, the only way is to fake his death.He gives up everything, hiding out on a ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills, fearing discovery by the people he left behind, but that doesn’t happen until the day he lets back into his life the one thing he’s missed most of all:Love.

I’m not even certain Travis should be called a “hero.”He might be better termed the “protagonist” of Serpent’s Tooth, although he has many of a hero’s features, he doesn’t’ meet all the criteria.That’s a question worthy of a lengthy debate:What makes a hero?It would’ve been easy to portray him as a thoroughly despicable character, considering the things he does of his own free will, so I chose to detail the reasons why he did them, and the main one is his love for his wife. Can a man who loves be all bad, no matter what he’s done? He wants to give her all the things he couldn’t when they were students, everything she ever wished for and he couldn’t afford.His story is also an object lesson in what happens to someone who’s been without all his life and suddenly finds himself with more money than he’ll ever want.He deliberately loses everything--including that beloved wife--and when he meets Melissa--just as in the story of Faust--it looks for a moment as if the love of a good woman will redeem him.It was easy to like Travis, even easier to sympathize with him but I viewed him with a somewhat jaundiced eye because I--as the Omniscient Author--know what is coming.Love him?No.Like, empathize, agonize over, hope against hope everything will come out all right? Yes.

As Clayton Bye (www.thedeepening.com) says, "...it will show horror fans that slice and dice just doesn’t stand up to understated and/or realistic horror."